Napiers, Ash Vale

We ended up at Napiers completely by accident... we were trying to find the Swan (any family pub with food would have done - having been kicked out of the Greyhound in Tongham for bringing a week old baby into a non-family pub) and stumbled across Napiers having failed to find the Swan.

We were the only people there to start with on a Friday lunchtime, and were welcomed with open arms. The beer kept my father and fiancee happy, and the food cheered up my Grandma and my Stepmum after our irritating experience in the Greyhound. I was also well looked after as a new mum, with no problem with breastfeeding or changing my little one... although we did have to do that on the floor of the ladies, but it is a pub after all!

All the food was lovely, I had ham egg and chips and no complaints at all about the food or the reasonable price, and they were happy to make cups of tea and cofffee for us in proper china teacups for my Gran.

Would heartily recommend this down-to-earth local pub, and suggest you have a bite to eat while you are there.

16 May 2009 18:22

The Old Buttermarket, Canterbury

We drank here twice on a visit to Canterbury - mostly because I love Kronenbourg and fancied a cold pint immediately after our long drive to get to C-bury, and it was a pub with a large outdoor seating area on a sunny day!

It's great for people-watching, being just outside the Cathedral Gate, but it did seem like it needed a bit of tlc to get it up to scratch as a 'great' pub. The outdoor seating is a boon these days for those of us still foolish enough to partake of the evil weed, so I didn't really experience the inside enough to complain about it, but the loos were clean and had toilet roll in them, which can be a huge hazard for a girl.

We didn't eat here, but it seemed to have a reasonable selection of pub grub, and a few hopeful looking punters awaiting the fare... good for a pint in the sun - but go elsewhere for evening atmosphere...

6 May 2008 15:30

The Hobgoblin, Canterbury

I had never seen a Wychwood pub before, and the ole man being a bit of a fan I dropped in whilst on a visit to Canterbury with a friend. She wasn't so impressed - muttering that she felt old (we are both 37) - but I had a lovely half of Abbot Ale and a smoke under the canopy (yes, a canopy - I like a pub that cares for it's smokers) before we headed back to the B&B to crash out for the night.

It was a Saturday night, and quite lively - but without being deafened by music or a TV, only by the increasingly drunken chatter and laughter of the clentele, who were a mixed bunch of chavvy girls, goth/metalists and olders who were obviously there for the ale!

The service was quick and friendly - absolutely no sideways looks at the two 'middle-aged ladies' - the beer tasty, and we found somewhere to sit. All I want from a pub really!

6 May 2008 15:21